Yard work!
The best thing about being a twenty-something and living at home is being old enough to do the yardwork for your parents. And your grandparents, since they can't get around well enough to do it themselves.
Can't you just hear the sarcasm dripping from my tone?
Actually, no, I volunteered to do Grandmom's. According to my Dad, the grass has sprouted seeds, and is about waist high. My first thought- 'We're gonna need a lot of trash bags'. My second thought - 'Can her itty bitty lawn mower even *handle* that, or should I borrow a scythe?'.
Luckily, no one in the family thinks I can possibly do it on my own. Or is that sadly, no one thinks.... Yes, I may have problems wrestling with the lawn mower. No, I don't think I can fix it if it breaks. Yada, yada. However, my brother sighed, and reluctantly gave up his only day off this week, it being tomorrow. I'm going to have to treat him to a really good lunch, I'm thinking. And a half carton of his favorite cigarettes. Maybe get him a six pack. Bribing the brother is a complicated task, which usually involves at least a dozen little things before he forgives me for an imposition, as I'm being so sweet and all to him. He'd tell me I don't have to, but *he* doesn't have to live with Mister Grumpy. He *is* Mister Grumpy, and even Dad'll help me cajole him in a good mood when he's being snippy.
Sometimes I wonder how I ended up with the duty of being the family emotional moderator, but it's a job I'm good at. I can be an excellent go-between, or manage to at least get a sad or angry person to smile. And getting that first smile is half the journey.
Ah well, off to work now. Have fun, all!
Can't you just hear the sarcasm dripping from my tone?
Actually, no, I volunteered to do Grandmom's. According to my Dad, the grass has sprouted seeds, and is about waist high. My first thought- 'We're gonna need a lot of trash bags'. My second thought - 'Can her itty bitty lawn mower even *handle* that, or should I borrow a scythe?'.
Luckily, no one in the family thinks I can possibly do it on my own. Or is that sadly, no one thinks.... Yes, I may have problems wrestling with the lawn mower. No, I don't think I can fix it if it breaks. Yada, yada. However, my brother sighed, and reluctantly gave up his only day off this week, it being tomorrow. I'm going to have to treat him to a really good lunch, I'm thinking. And a half carton of his favorite cigarettes. Maybe get him a six pack. Bribing the brother is a complicated task, which usually involves at least a dozen little things before he forgives me for an imposition, as I'm being so sweet and all to him. He'd tell me I don't have to, but *he* doesn't have to live with Mister Grumpy. He *is* Mister Grumpy, and even Dad'll help me cajole him in a good mood when he's being snippy.
Sometimes I wonder how I ended up with the duty of being the family emotional moderator, but it's a job I'm good at. I can be an excellent go-between, or manage to at least get a sad or angry person to smile. And getting that first smile is half the journey.
Ah well, off to work now. Have fun, all!